Lycoming College - Arrow Yearbook (Williamsport, PA)

Page 18 text:

John W . Long Library Wood Engraving — John DePol 500,000 Methodists in Pennsylvania, expan- sion of the program would not interfere with Dickinson College as these would be the only Methodist institutions in the state; the increase of puhlicly-supported junior colleges would be too great competition. Dr. Long and Judge Williams continued their campaign by holding a meeting for nearly one hundred area Methodist ministers to enumerate the benefits of a four-year col- lege. They also discussed the matter with Bishop Corson who suggested caution and that an inquiry be made to Dickinson College to see how many graduates could be accepted into their junior class. Dickinson replied that 25 was all they could take of the 200 in the Seminary ' s graduating class. On Janu- ary 24, 1947, Judge Williams and his com- mittee met with a committee from Dickinson College. They were told that Williamsport Dickinson was in no way obligated by the promise made to Dr. Morgan and were re- quested not to have Dickinson as part of the name of the school. The seemingly difficult problem of choos ing a name ended in October of 1947 when the board unanimously selected Lycoming. ' Dr. Long had wanted the name Crever Col lege in honor of the founder of the school Other names under discussion had been: Uni versity of Williamsport, Northern Methodist Loyalsock College, and Muncy College. Ly coming was the name chosen and on June 17 1948, when permission was secured from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, an order was signed officially changing the name. XIV

Page 17 text:

Bell and Flas: Court Wood Engraving — John DePol an Armv education unit. The influx of cadets forced the facuUy and students to vacate dor- mitory space. In 1944 Dr. Long reported that 910 air crew students and 59 students in the United States Cadet Nurse Corps had been in the College Training Detachment. The story of the transaction from a junior college to a fully accredited four-year insti- tution is as exciting as a novel. President Long announced that he had sent a letter to Dr. John L. Seaton, President of the Univer- sity Senate of the Methodist Church, giving reasons why a change in the junior college status was being considered. Several board members supported this change, but Congress- man Rich hesitated because of a promise he had made to Dr. Morgan of Dickinson College in securing his help for the change in the junior college status, which was that the Sem- inary would not consider becoming a four- year college. Judge Charles Williams was made chairman of a committee to meet with committees from Dickinson College and the University Senate to discuss the proposition. After this action. Dr. Long began indus- triously to gain permission from the neces- sary groups to accomplish his purpose and to have the board take positive action. How- ever, some members of the board were op- posed to the change. Many influential church men hesitated, and although the Williamsport community favored the move, the leaders were apprehensive about its success. There were many arguments in favor of a four-year college: the crowded condition of all colleges made it impossible to gain ad- mittance for Williamsport Dickinson gradu- ates to other schools; the great number of veterans who wanted college education could not get into other colleges; because there were XIII

Page 19 text:

The new charter also allowed the granting of baccalaureate degrees in the Arts and Sci- ences. Accreditation was a necessary and major step. Committees from both the University Senate of the Methodist Church and the Mid- dle States Association of Colleges visited the campus twice. On the first visit in March of 1948, the Middle States Association Com- mittee refused accreditation but made several suggestions. Members of the University Sen- ate committee stated that a library and science building were necessary and that the faculty should be reorganized with a decentralization of authority. On June 3, 1950, it was re- ported to the board that accreditation had been granted by both groups. The library, being a necessity for accredi- tation, came under serious consideration. In May 1949, $1,800 was allocated to the James V. Brown Library for the use of its facilities by college students. A committee was ap- pointed to study the matter. The site was chosen at the suggestion of the University Senate Committee and on February 11, 1950, plans were approved. Plans were also made for a science building. Adjoining the college property was the Flock Brewery Company which had lost its prosperity due to prohibition. After much bargaining the property was purchased for $83,000 by the school. The brewery and smokestack were later razed leaving the bot- tling works to be renovated for the science hall. Of concern in the early 1950 ' s was the desire to have a teacher training program at the school. After much agitation from Octo- ber, 1950, the application was finally ap- proved in November, 1952. Rich Hall, the girls ' dormitory, construct- ed in 1948, at a cost of $286,000 was the first modern building on campus. It was named in honor of the Rich family of Wool- rich, the chief benefactors of the college. Also at this time, an acute lack of classroom space prompted Dr. Long to negotiate the purchase of a building from the government. This was named Soldiers and Sailors Memo- rial Hall and served as classrooms and lab- oratories. In March of 1954, Dr. Long announced his decision to resign at the end of the school year in 1955. A committee was immediately selected to choose a new president. Dr. Long had spent the greatest part of his ministry serving the school, and Lycoming stands as a result of his hard and dedicated work. In his last report to the Conference, he brought to the members ' attention that 137 of the 277 ministers in the Conference had attended the institution. He reported an enrollment of 621 students with 100 more in night school and 50 special students, and an endowment of $800,000 and a debt free property evalua- tion of $2,610,000. He also mentioned the many services the school provided for the conference and church groups. On July 1, 1955, David Frederick Wertz took full charge of the presidency. After his election on October 28, 1954, he had been in close contact with all the committees and was ready to move ahead. A special session of the Central Pennsylvania Conference was held in November, 1955, in honor of the new pres- ident. Part of the activities of the day in- cluded a ground-breaking ceremony for a new men ' s dormitory later to be named Wesley HalL The first major concern of the new ad- ministration was the neglected faculty. So much attention had been placed on the strug- gle to attain four-year status that there had been little time to consider the faculty other than struggling to retain college level teach- ers. After his first year. Dr. Wertz added 17 new teachers. After four years, the fac- ulty and administrative staff numbered nearly one hundred with nearly twenty earned doc- torates in comparison to seven in 1950. Further, the new administration urged the faculty on to advanced study by granting leaves of absence. Financial aid was offered. Many faculty members took advantage of this offer. In 1959, as further encouragement, the executive committee decided to offer finan- cial inducements and leave of absences to those wishing to study for a doctorate, this in addition to sabbatical leaves. Also at the beginning of Dr. Wertz ' s ad- ministration, a development committee was set up under Judge Williams. A seven year program including a $3,750,000 building XV